


Home

by southernraiders



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Light Angst, ZFAW, Zutara Fanwork Appreciation Week, does katara end up with aang or zuko, implicit kataang, its zutara for me but its an opening ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:48:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27699881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southernraiders/pseuds/southernraiders
Summary: Katara comes to an understanding through her academic paper.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lettersfromnowhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lettersfromnowhere/gifts).
  * Inspired by [you can have manhattan](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26041768) by [lettersfromnowhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lettersfromnowhere/pseuds/lettersfromnowhere). 



> happy zfaw, everyone!! here's a one-shot for day 4 (angst wednesday) that was supposed to be for day 1 (hidden gem) but i suppose i can just kill two birds with one stone
> 
> some a/n:
> 
>   * the italics at the beginning of each section are excerpts from katara's sociology paper. for her paper, she is required to construct an essay of her choice, where the essay must revolve around the sociological theory of social constructivism. katara chooses to discuss ‘home’ as a social construct and the multiple definitions it can take on
>   * the bolded numbers in square brackets signify her age at that point. katara is currently 22 (so the last section is present time)
> 


_“The definition of home has been contested repeatedly today. This growing fixation on pinning down what exactly is home can be seen even in the media, with popular series like_ Naruto _(1997) enlightening its audience that “home is where someone is thinking about you”.”_

*********

**[18]**

“Why is your luggage with you?”

She chuckled at the way he froze like a deer caught in the headlights, doubling over in laughter when he started to blink repeatedly to make sure he was not hallucinating. 

“You’re not dreaming, dork,” she shook her head in amusement. “I came directly from the airport.” 

“Aren’t you supposed to-” 

“I gave you the wrong date so I could surprise you.”

“Still. With your luggage?” he deadpanned. “You could at least head home first and rest a little. Jet lag is a thing, you know.” 

She stuck out her tongue in defiance, then reaching out to take his hand as she closed the distance between them. She studied his face for a moment before resting a hand on his scarred cheek. God, she missed him so much, and he was finally in front of her. 

“Katara?”

She leaned forward and kissed him gently. 

“I am homed, Zuko,” she smiled. “Home is where someone is thinking of you, isn’t it? You taught me that.”

She fished out her phone instantly and opened their chat. “Look.” 

_Come back to me safely. I’ll be thinking about you like always. I love you, Katara._

“Well… Naruto taught me that,” he flushed in slight embarrassment and ran a hand through his hair.

She rested her face against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat, all the while revelling in their closeness and his warmth. “Point still stands.”

As he tightened his arms around her and placed a kiss on top of her head, she started laughing. 

“What?”

“Nothing much,” she giggled. “It’s starting to get windy and I just thought of the first time we kissed.” 

“The one on the ferry ride?” 

“Yes. It was such an awkward first kiss thanks to the wind.”

The wind was picking up gradually.

He pulled back a little to admire her. “So this is like déjà vu?” 

“No, not really. My hair is tied up this time, so the wind can’t whip it onto my face.”

He contemplated for a moment before shrugging. “It’s still possible.”

“Bet.” 

He closed the distance between them this time and kissed her. It was softer and sweeter than the one before, and this time, it was as if this one kiss held every single memory they have had together so far. Literally everything — from the first moment when they were placed together in a project for their high school elective, their gradual telepathy that had annoyed the gang endlessly, the way they had caught each other’s eyes almost instantly whenever they were in the same room, Zuko messing up his promposal so badly, homecoming night, the mentioned ferry ride, graduation day, and so on.

“Zuko?” she broke the kiss for a moment. “I love you.”

_You will always be my home_. 

* * *

_“Notwithstanding the foregoing, when considering existing literature about the topic in question, home is popularly associated with stability and security (Ferrante, 2005).”_

*********

**[20]**

“You’re still upset.”

“For the hundredth time, I’m not,” Katara sighed. “I’ve just been super busy. You know the deadlines for projects and assignments are always so close to one another during this period. They’re never-ending. Listen, Zuko, I’m sorry for being so distant recently.”

“It’s fine, I know how crazy college can be before term break. But you do know that I’m always here to help, right? We used to bounce some ideas off each other for our assignments.” 

“Those days were fun. Oh! Remember how Sokka said it was like a debate club?” She laughed. “But it’s all right, really. You already have enough on your plate. The process for dropping out of college is kinda exhausting, isn’t it?” 

“Yeah. I’m almost done with it though,” he attempted a smile. “Just have to tie up some loose ends.” 

“What comes after that, Zuko?” 

He looked away instantly. “I don’t really know,” he muttered. “I just… have no idea what I want to study or do.” 

“I know I’m just repeating the same thing but… must you really drop out? You can just stay and-”

“Katara,” he sighed and ran a hand over his face. “We’ve been through this already.” He scanned her face briefly. “You’re still upset, aren’t you? You don’t have to lie to me.”

She inched forward, closing the gap between them. She could see the stars reflected in his eyes, could feel the heat radiating from him, and could have sworn she saw him reach out a little for her. For a brief moment, everything was fine and back to normal, and she was about to kiss him until she blinked and realised what she was doing. 

She took a step back. She was never good at pretending.

“I’m just not used to the idea of you dropping out,” she admitted, “but I’ll come around eventually, don’t worry.” She paused and checked her watch. “I suppose we should leave now before the traffic gets worse. I have morning classes tomorrow as well,” she tried to force a smile. She fumbled with her fingers for a moment, before looking up at him. “Oh, right. Do you want me to drop by your campus on Friday? I could help you with the packing at your dorm while you settle the final administrative stuff.” 

“Sure, that’d be great.” he grinned. “We could get dinner after that.” 

“A date, huh?” 

“Yes. It’s been ages since we went on one. Besides, I missed you. Long distance relationships are hard. How does Sokka and Suki even manage-”

She lunged forward and kissed him before he could go on a full rant, and he automatically responded in kind. It was second nature to the both of them — not just intimacy, but also (and more importantly) loving each other. 

Still, there was a nagging feeling at the back of her mind that she could not shake off. She subconsciously knew that something was wrong, but she brushed it off momentarily. 

_Everything will be okay. We will be okay. This — he — is home, after all._

Later, she would realise that nothing was okay. They were truly not okay.

Later, she would wonder if this was the home she needed for her future.

Eventually, her definition of home changed. 

* * *

_“But, above all, perhaps the most apt definition of home is the one offered by Au-Yong (2011) — home is where the heart is. After all, with everyone having their hearts in different places, it is thus unsurprising that home is a social construct that takes on multiple definitions in a society.”_

*********

**[22]**

As the sun dipped below the horizon slowly, Katara gazed wistfully at the myriad of colours that laid in front of her — inky black to midnight blue, blueish-grey to yellow, yellowish orange with a tinge of red — before letting out a heavy sigh, her heart pained with a sort of unspeakable weight pressed against it. 

She had intended to admire the sunset when she paused at the bridge, something which she thought she rightfully deserved after she had finally submitted her sociology paper, the very same paper which caused her to rack her brain for the past fortnight and had gone through multiple revisions because she was simply unsatisfied with it. 

And though she had already submitted her paper in the early afternoon, she was still unsatisfied with it. She had a feeling she had missed something out, or had typed something wrongly. 

She simply did not feel right. 

She closed her eyes and tried to drown her internal turmoil by focusing on the soothing tunes of a nearby guitar and the gentle wind grazing past her face. 

“Mom,” she heard a young child speak to his mother. “Does the sun ever meet the moon?” 

“Yes, during an eclipse. That is when the sun, the earth, and the moon align together.” 

“Oh. That’s nice. At least the sun and the moon won’t be lonely forever. It must be terribly lonely for them in the daytime sky and night sky.” 

“Well, there are people on earth who do admire them from a distance. That should make them less lonely, don’t you think?” A pause. “Anyway, let’s go.” 

She opened her eyes a few seconds later, intending to catch a glimpse of the mother and child, only to be disrupted by the vibration coming from her phone. She glanced at the caller ID and stifled a sigh before swiping to answer.

“Hey, Aang. What’s up?” She waited a moment for him to respond. “Oh. Yeah, don’t worry.” She waited again. “Yes, I am almost home.” 

_But I am nowhere near it._

Perhaps that was why she did not feel right; why she never truly felt right. 

**Author's Note:**

> i originally wanted to end off with "and then it clicked" to establish the eventual zk but sarah's fic has a kataang & maiko ending so i thought it would be interesting to leave it as an open ending instead (the mother and daughter conversation hints at eventual kataang, but the last line hints at eventual zutara instead) (although... the last line does not quite make clear whether katara does leave aang in the end - it's really meant to be ambiguous despite the zk hint. but anyway!! take ur pick) 
> 
> (if you're asking me, it's eventual zk haha)
> 
> also, the citations are entirely made up so don't bother searching for them!!!


End file.
